Nottingham Trent University

Empowering tomorrow’s changemakers: Promoting sustainability in childhood

How can we embed the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) agenda in early years’ experiences, so that children develop the skills, knowledge, and values to participate in a global conversation? How might that conversation be shaped by different cultural contexts? What should children know about responsibility and citizenship today, so that they can guide the world tomorrow — and what role could students play as their teachers, mentors, and advocates?

I have developed a bespoke sustainability-focused module, which has been embedded across the suite of Childhood degrees at NTU. Built around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for undergraduate learning, it incorporates experiential learning, critical reflection, and innovative assessment methods.

The module enhances students’ ability to identify and evaluate best sustainability practices, and then shares their work throughout the higher education and Early Years sector, positioning them as childhood sustainability champions, and promoting the rights, welfare, and agency of children.

Top 3 Learnings

1. I have combined academic and professional sustainability literacy using the SDGs as a framework to support UG insights into key sustainability issues and their relationship to the disciplinary context.
2. I have achieved the design of an authentic, challenging, and personalised assessment model which facilitates the UNESCO competencies, peer learning and cascading of knowledge to two different generations: students and children.
3. I have disseminated my ideas to a wide audience within and beyond the education sector to enable others to replicate a strong sustainable pedagogy and practice around children’s agency within their own context.